Beldain
A kingdom located on the great eastern plains, Beldain is far from the center of most political and military events. A land of Orthodoxy and horses, the plains and farmlands of Beldain seem to offer little for a great power at first glance. None-the-less, the Queen of this land looks to guide her people towards a time of greatness. Early History of Beldain Beldain started out as a small group of tribes, herders, and farmers that could barely call itself a kingdom. It's newly crowned Queen still sought to make it a kingdom that would rule the plains of Rus and had her people work towards this goal immediately. Expansion came easy to Beldain, with large tracks of unclaimed land all around it. The kingdom quickly grew to several times its original size. These new lands were settled and farmed, showing that despite this new beginning, Beldanites were still rural at heart. With such a large area to control, quick movement became a must. Thus did horses become integral to the workings of the kingdom. The military forces of Beldain were the first to use them, hoping to dominate any foe on their home plains with thundering cavalry. This focus on mounted combat took hold amongst the armies of the kingdom as improvements all revolved around making the horsement of Beldain as powerful as possible. Horsemenship, mounted tactics, and specially bred war-horses were all used to strenghten the growing might of Beldain's military prowess. Despite this, the Beldanite forces did not go to war, simply helping to patrol their lands and expand the realm. And important diplomatic event for Beldain was their growing friendship with their southern neighbors of the Dersic Empire. Both the Queen and the Tzar saw that positive relations between their nations were the best for them both and so promised each other plenty of room to grow. Derse's conversion to Orthodox Christianity helped influence Beldain's conversion to the same, forming an Orthodox area in the east of Europe. Little other contact with other nations took place, limited mainly to missionaries sent by various religions. This means that Beldain has gained no enemies so far, leaving its position secure for a time. It's lack of true allies though meant its security was still fragile. During the birth of muskets though, several new powers arose around the horse-riding people, none showing hostile intent at first. The growing tension between the West (Catholic nations) and East (assortment of Jewish, Muslim, and Christian nations) caused Beldain to look outward more, hoping to keep itself safe. Sons and Daughters of Rus More change came to Beldain though beyond simple muskets. New nations arrose close by, some friendly, others unknown in their intent. The Tsardom of Muscovy would become a close friend, both politically and geologically. Other nations along the plains of Rus were beginning to form close relations as Beldain began to create it's own matchlocks. What ultimately brought about a cementing of positive relations was the raiding parties of Vikings that began to land upon the shores of Zvendansa. Beldain's friends were quick to come to the defense of the Baltic nation, but Beldain was cautious about it's lack of state religion. The Queen eventually sent forth some of her armies in defense of a fellow son of the Rus plains. A striking victory against the norse raiders left the 4 eastern nations in high spirits. Celebrations were held in several nations and a loose alliance was struck up amongst the nations. This new Pan-Rus idea was received well with most of the people, the Queen amongst them. Beldain would join together with it's brother's in the East to chart a future together. It was then though that tragedy struck the nation. The Queen passed away, though quite content with the state of the nation, leaving Beldain in the hands of her daughter. This sudden responsibility did not intimidate her though, as rather than be crowned a new Queen, she would instead be a Tzarina to her people, a show of Russic pride. She was quickly put to the test when an old Orthodox brother, the Eastern Roman Empire came under attack by the Caliphate of Davirr. She marched to war at the head of her troops, alongside the armies of her allies. But it seemed that she was not fit to lead at the front, as her speech only sent a shiver of forboding through her men where she hoped it would inspire. With similar feelings rustling through the homeland, she returned from the front to comfort her people. The armies went on to help defend Constantinople without their queen. It seems that the Tzarina's return to Beldain was a wise choice. The still rather foreign Gokturks had seen fit to pillage the lands of Derse. Rather than ride out immediately, the generals insisted on waiting for the armies of Derse to return so they could destroy the Eastern invaders together. Another correct move, as the Muscovites managed to perfect a model of musket that could be used by the armies of Rus. With this new weapon in the hands of Beldanite and Derse troops, the Gokturks stood no chance and their raiding parties wiped out. The rest of their tribe seemed to desolve before the Russic forces as well, disappearing eastwards. In the south a cease-fire was hammered out between the Caliphate and the Russic nations. Peace had once again returned to Beldain, but rumblings in western Europe threaten to break it soon. Category:Empire Builder 6 Category:Nation